As shown at FIG. 1, a header assembly 10 is used to interconnect between wiring harness connectors and a printed circuit board (PCB) (not shown). The header assembly 10 is typically constructed of aluminum and has four receptacles, arranged as an upper left receptacle 12, a lower left receptacle 14, and upper right receptacle 16 and a lower right receptacle 18. Within each receptacle of the header assembly 10, a plurality of pins 20 are affixed by a plastic inset and epoxy as an upper row and a lower row, wherein the upper and lower rows of pins of each receptacle provide a bank of pins particular to that receptacle. For example, given that the upper and lower rows each have twenty pins, then each receptacle has a bank of forty pins. The receptacles receive, respectively, a corresponding connector of one or more wiring harnesses so as to electrically contact the pins. At the rear side of the header assembly 10, the pins 20 horizontally project to a predetermined bend location respectively for each of the upper and lower rows of each of the receptacles, respectively, whereupon the pins are vertically oriented and terminate as pin terminals 22 at a common plane.
Problematically, the pin terminals 22 of the pins 20 are distantly separated from the header assembly 10, resulting in the precise alignment of the pin terminals being subject to misalignment with the application thereto of lateral forces. However, in order for the pin terminals 22 to properly interface with corresponding connection locations of a PCB, it is necessary to restrain the pin terminals from being free to move relative to one another so that pin terminal alignment will remain precise.
In the prior art, it is known to utilize a perforated mylar sheet 24 to restrain movement of the pin terminals, wherein each pin terminal passes through a respective perforation 26. In this regard, a first mylar sheet is used to alignably interface with the two banks of pin terminals associated with the upper and lower left receptacles 12, 14, and a second mylar sheet is used to alignably interface with the two banks of pin terminals associated with each of the upper and lower right receptacles 16, 18.
While the mylar sheets can aid to restrain the pin terminals from relatively moving, the inherent flexibility of a mylar sheet cannot prevent an untoward force from misaligning the pin terminals, whether individually, collectively, or as a bank. Further, the need to precisely align the perforations with each respective pin terminal prior to placement of the mylar sheets onto the pin terminals is an undesirably critical assembly step. Further, mylar sheets cannot serve to space the pins with respect to the header assembly and to the PCB. Yet another problem of mylar sheet is that it can slip up the pins or down and off the pins, since it has no ability to indexably space itself relative to the header assembly. Still further, mylar sheets become increasingly incapable of serving their intended pin spacing maintenance function in high pin density applications in which the spacing between the pins is very small.
Accordingly, what remains needed in the art is a pin terminal alignment article which serves to fix pin terminal spacing, provide indexable spacing and provide ease of installation.